Orpheus and Vitamin C are the secrets to my glowing complexion. Shhh…

I was having a phone conversation with the founder of a new indie brand yesterday and just now realized that we spent about 45 minutes of the 90-minute call talking about Vitamin C.

We mused over the miraculous benefits of the antioxidant powerhouse — and of the difficulty in creating a really well-formulated Vitamin C product.

We shared stories. too, of Vitamin C experiences gone bad, including my own horror show with an oxidized product on a weekend getaway over the summer.

Suddenly I was in the Hamptons with no Vitamin C serum! To begin with, I’m no fan of the snooty enclave three hours east of the City. The last thing I needed in the Hamptons was a lackluster complexion. They’re all so judgmental there.

But seriously, we talked about Vitamin C for 45 minutes. Am I a skincare nerd or what?

It amazes me that just 5-10 years ago, few people were interested in the potent, ages-old active. And brand marketers? No way! Marketing is all about innovation, wow factor — the next big thing. When I was at Kiehl’s, we used to refer to the monthly presentation to entertain the French with our brilliant ideas as the “dog and pony show.”

Clinique’s Fresh Pressed Daily Booster would never have been launched just a few years ago.

A decade ago, you’d probably have been escorted out of the Clinique conference room for suggesting that the brand launch a Vitamin C serum. It’s just not very sexy — and skin care is somehow expected to be sexy. I never got that memo.

Boy, things have sure changed! Even at Clinique — the biggest skincare brand in the world.

Just about two years ago now, Clinique launched the Fresh Pressed Daily Booster with Pure Vitamin C 10%. As I said in my article last fall on The Year’s Best Vitamin C Serums, “it’s the perfect boost for stepping up your game.”

Clinique’s innovative, fresh activation component instantly mixes pure Ascorbic Acid, which is a powder in its natural state, with a water-based serum infused with multiple pro-skin health actives.

“Vitamin C is one of the most well-researched and beneficial vitamins you can apply topically. Ongoing use has been shown to improve the look of multiple signs of aging, brighten an uneven skin tone, as well as provide skin-restoring and soothing benefits.” - Paula Begoun

While I consider Clinique’s not-all-that-innovative innovation one of the best, pro-skin health products available, I actually highlighted five distinct Vitamin C products that I consider among the best anywhere in the world.

In addition to Fresh Pressed, I reviewed the Garden of Wisdom Vitamin C 23% Serum & Ferulic Acid; two products from Deciem’s The Ordinary, Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% Solution and the 100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder — and the BeautyStat Universal C Skin Refiner.

What does Vitamin C do for skin?

There’s an excellent article on the remarkable benefits of Vitamin C for the skin from the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team titled, What is Vitamin C and How Does it Benefit Skin?

Vitamin C is one of the most exciting, research-proven ingredients you can apply to skin (1). This water-soluble antioxidant is a natural component of healthy skin. When we’re young, vitamin C levels in skin’s outermost two layers (epidermis and dermis) are abundant, but as we age, these levels naturally deplete. Unprotected sun exposure (UV damage) and pollution can accelerate this decline, leading to skin looking and feeling dull, uneven, and less firm than it once was (2).
Luckily, there are topical skin care solutions that can help mitigate this damage, so skin looks and feels healthier and younger longer.
Vitamin C Benefits for Skin
Vitamin C’s benefits for skin are vast, including its ability to even out skin tone and diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles (3). While this powerhouse ingredient is well-known for its skin-brightening benefits, research also shows it can shield skin from the visible impacts of environmental stressors, including free radical damage (4). This synergy of mitigating problems both before and after they occur makes vitamin C a force to be reckoned with.

**WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEW OF BEAUTY STAT AND ONE OF THE BEST VITAMIN C PRODUCTS ANYWHERE ON EARTH ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE.**

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Meet BeautyStat

BeautyStat Cosmetics is a bold, science-driven brand founded in New York by cosmetic chemist and industry veteran, Ron Robinson. But the BeautyStat brand itself is not exactly new to the scene; you may, in fact, find it familiar. BeautyStat began as a beauty blog more than ten years ago!

Over the past decade, beauty junkies like me have come to rely on BeautyStat’s product info, brand insights, and ingredient introspection with articles like How Well Do You Know Your Cleanser? and Graydon, Fullmoon Serum, How to Achieve Radiant Skin.

So when I heard that BeautyStat’s influencer-driven blog was introducing its own skincare brand with a single Vitamin C product, I was naturally intrigued — and inspired. One day, I hope to do the same!

Getting it right is everything, particularly after BeautyStat’s 100s, maybe 1000s, of product reviews. In fact, that’s my own fear. After critiquing the world’s best and worst skin care, my own Skincarma Skincare™ would be open to just as much scrutiny.

And, well, BeautyStat nailed it with their brilliantly formulated Universal C Skin Refiner. Not only was it among my top Vitamin C picks of 2019, but Universal C was recently declared by Allure magazine one of “the best 27 vitamin C-spiked serums, face masks, and moisturizers that are sure to leave your skin happy and bright.”

Geez, Allure, just 27?

Universal C Skin Refiner

I could literally spend the rest of my life testing, reviewing, and posting about Vitamin C products and be perfectly happy. (But you’d get bored and find a more interesting skincare blog to read — like the BeautyStat Blog!)

That’s the thing though — I’m never bored with Vitamin C. It’s not sexy; and skin care isn’t supposed to be sexy. That’s the nonsense spun by big beauty brand marketers. We’re all accustomed to expecting the next big unheard of thing that will lead us like sheep to the fountain of youth. Take snail slime, for example. Apparently, there are a lot of snails swimming in the fountain of youth!

That Vitamin C only recently came into play as a skincare essential has everything to do with the fact that it’s so difficult to formulate just right — especially at high, active levels.

A poorly formulated Vitamin C serum that oxidizes, as mine did in the Hamptons, can actually become pro-oxidant.

That means that rather than functioning as a protective anti-oxidant in the skin, the molecules will damage the skin by disrupting normal skin cell functions on par with stress, pollution and other environmental aggressors.

From an Oregon State University report, “The oxidation of vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is brought about by the loss of two hydrogen atoms as the vitamin is converted to dehydroascorbic acid.” And that doesn’t sound so good for the skin, does it?

You can tell if your Vitamin C serum has oxidized because it will shift in color from the time you opened it. So, as a first rule of thumb, make a mental note of how the product appears the first time you use it. (Try taking a picture so you know for sure!) If it oxidizes, cut your losses and toss it into the bin.

Over the last year, formula innovation has accelerated and you’re suddenly seeing Vitamin C products formulated at levels of fifteen percent, twenty percent — even twenty-five percent of the vitamin.

There are two ways to look at a Vitamin C formula — water-based and water-less.

Unlike the Clinique Fresh Pressed, the BeautyStat Universal C Skin Refiner is not a water-based serum; rather, it’s a richly-textured, waterless lotion — what’s called a “suspension” in formulary parlance.

Formulated with 20% L-Ascorbic Acid, the most potent form of Vitamin C, and an encapsulated delivery system, the silky formula contains an active ingredient called Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG).

I had no idea what that was either. So I googled it…

EGCG is the most important component of green tea! It happens to perfectly sync up with Vitamin C for reliable, potent antioxidant protection that prevents skin damage. With just seven ingredients, the Universal C Skin Refiner has a very tight ingredient list, accounting for the fact that the vitamin doesn’t play well with other actives. Overload it and the mixture collapses — like a soggy cake made with too many wet berries and fruits. (Yeah, I watch a lot of The Great British Baking Show!)

The first ingredient in BeautyStat’s Universal C is Cyclopentasiloxane, an innocuous, lightweight silicone that forms the formula base and protects the Vitamin C by effectively preventing oxidation. Plant-derived Squalane, a bio-available substance recognized by the skin, helps to nourish and moisturize the outer skin layers.

And, the addition of the alpha-hydroxy Tartaric Acid helps to balance skin’s pH as it enhances absorption of the other actives. Tartaric Acid is one of the six AHAs and is found in many plants, including grapes and tamarinds. It’s also one of the main component acids in wine.

The fact that Universal C is packaged in an airtight pump makes it top shelf — one of the best Vitamin C products I’ve come across. It’s heartening to know that the beauty editors at Allure, Cosmo, Glamour and Just Bobbi agree with me. In fact, Bobbi Brown and her editorial team named it one of “the 9 Best Beauty Products of 2019,” along with Then I Met You’s Living Cleansing Balm, also a personal fave.

As you can imagine, really great products are knocked off by brands all the time. Look at Missha’s dupe of Estee Lauder’s iconic Advanced Night Repair. (I reviewed the pair — and the striking similarities on my Instagram page just last week, here.)

Vitamin C products are no exception. In fact, you may have heard or read about a lawsuit filed by L’Oreal on behalf of its SkinCeuticals brand.

My former employer sued indie brand Drunk Elephant for allegedly knocking off the patented Vitamin C technology that powers the beauty beast’s SkinCeuticals icon, CE Ferulic. Of course, Drunk Elephant’s C-Firma serum has long been been dubbed by fans a dupe for SkinCeuticals’ $165 serum.

So, about that innovative BeautyStat delivery system? Ron and his team patented it! You won’t find it in any other Vitamin C product anywhere. There are two patents, in fact: #9,901,532 and #9,901,533.

For a chance to win your very own bottle of BeautyStat’s genius Universal C in the Skincarma x BeautyStat Giveaway, scroll to the bottom of the article.

**WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEW OF BEAUTY STAT AND ONE OF THE BEST VITAMIN C PRODUCTS ANYWHERE ON EARTH ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE.**

SUBSCRIBE TO SKINCARMA ON YOUTUBE

Universal Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream

Kindly excuse the ensuing rant…

I am no fan of products in jars! I make the point every time I review a moisturizer in a jar. Again, the moment you open the lid and expose the formula to light, air and bacteria, it begins to degrade. Just like driving a new car off the lot!

If a product is going to be housed in a jar, it had better damn well make sense — and you better be sure to use it up quickly. So, as counterintuitive as it sounds, when a product comes in a jar, less is more.

BeautyStat’s Universal Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream comes in a relatively stingy one-ounce jar — and that’s exactly how I like it. But the smaller, leaner size isn’t the only thing that’s noteworthy about the Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream.

The first time you remove the lid, you know something’s different. To put it rather inelegantly, it looks like a thick blend of yogurt and bacon fat. I know, I know, skin care is supposed to be sexy. And there’s nothing sexy about that, is there? The thing is, the formula is so thick that it’s highly unlikely to dispense well through the tiny hole in a more protective tube. So I get it.

Okay, so Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream has a unique texture and appearance. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that one of the reasons it looks like a deliciously opaque, gelatinous goop is due to its blend of inherently goopy ingredients.

First, a bit of trivia: in its natural form, Hyaluronic Acid is a gelatinous goop! But Pro-Bio Moisture Boost also contains a high level of humectant Glycerin, Dimethicone, ceramides and Cetearyl Olivate — an oily, waxy ester that combines Cetearyl Alcohol and fatty acids found in olive oil. All good goopy stuff for skin.

But perhaps the formula headliner is its bio-fermented active, Bifida Ferment Lysate. Fermentation in skin care is hot right now — and for good reason.

Ferments are not only super nourishing for the skin, but they actually break down other actives in the formula into smaller molecules that can better penetrate skin’s protective outer barrier.

Rated by Paula Begoun and team as one of the “best” ingredients for the skin, Bifida Ferment Lysate is “a probiotic ingredient derived from a specific type of yeast obtained by the fermentation of Bifida bacteria. Research on human skin explants (cross-sections of intact human skin) has shown this ingredient can help reactive skin become less sensitive to environmental aggressors via strengthening its microbiome. Doing so encourages skin to visibly repair itself and begin looking healthier.”

BeautyStat’s Universal Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream is packed with nutritive goodness for the skin that keeps skin plump, hydrated and nourished. Just be sure to use it up quickly! And next time you’re in the market for a new car, consider leasing one.

That’s it guys! I invite you to enter the exclusive SKINCARMA x BEAUTYSTAT GIVEAWAY for a chance to win one of the world’s best Vitamin C products! See just below…

🖤 SKINCARMA

**WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEW OF BEAUTY STAT AND ONE OF THE BEST VITAMIN C PRODUCTS ANYWHERE ON EARTH ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE.**

SUBSCRIBE TO SKINCARMA ON YOUTUBE

BeautyStat’s Universal C Skin Refiner

BeautyStat Universal Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream

The Ingredient List of the BeautyStat Universal C Skin Refiner:

Cyclopentasiloxane, L-Ascorbic Acid (Pure Vitamin C), Isocetyl Stearate, Squalane, Polysilicone-11, Petrolatum, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract Pure Egcg Green Tea), Tartaric Acid.

The Ingredient List of the BeautyStat Universal Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream:

Water, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Cetearyl Olivate, Polyacrylamide, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Sorbitan Olivate, Polysilicone-11, Ceramide 2, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Sterols, Ganoderma Lucidum Extract (Asian Mushroom Extract), Linoleic Acid, Lactose, Milk Protein, Sodium Hyaluronate, Bifida Ferment Lysate, Betula Alba Bark (White Birch) Extract, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Laureth-7, Sodium Citrate, Tocopheryl Acetate(Vitamin E), Sorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Propanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Hydroxide, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Benzoate.